Tub and shower surround and apparatus and method for making same

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION COMPRISES MAKING A TUB AND SHOWER ENCLOSURE OF ONE PIECE CONSTRUCTION WHEREIN THE FINISHED PRODUCT WILL BE SEAMLESS AND THE END AREAS WILL BE OF A COLUMNAR PARTIAL WRAP AROUND ARRANGEMENT EMBODYING THE TUBE AT THE LOWER END AND A CAPPED LEDGE AT THE UPPER END SO THAT IT WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID WHEN FREESTANDING. THE INVENTION ALSO INCLUDES AN IMPROVED MOLD AND MOLDING PROCESS PERMITTING RECESSES, WALLS AND TUB TO ALL BE CAST INTEGRALLY AT ONE TIME.

Jan. 26, 1971 K. L. RUGGLES ETAL 3,557,390 TUB AND SHOWER SURROUND AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed Jun} 1, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Kuy L. Ruqgles Norman van Skyhowk 723m .9 W

ATTORNEY Jan. 26, I971; K. L. RUGGLES EIAL 3,557,390

' TUB AND SHOWER SURROUND AND APPARATUS V V AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed July 1, 1968 U 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Kay L. Ruggles BY Norman van Skyhuwk ATTORNEY Jam 26, 1971 K. L. RUGGLES ETAL TUB AND SHOWER SURROUND AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed July 1, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheeo 5 IN VENTORS Kay L. Ruggles Norman van Skyhqwk Fig. 3.

ATTORNEY Filed July 1, 1968 Jan. 26,- 1971 u L s ErAL 3,557,390

, TUB AND SHOWER SURROUND AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 4;

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I I I I! I III I I. II II I :llllll \N: I H} 1: I i I o V I F FTT I I I I I I I m I I I L.! LJ N LJ LJ h .INVENTORS Key L. Ruggles BY Norman von'skyhowk ATTORNEY United States PatentO 3,557,390 TUB AND SHOWER SURROUND AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Kay L. Ruggles and Norman Van Skyhawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, assignors to American Standard Inc., New

York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 1, 1968, Ser. No. 741,728 Int. Cl. A47k 3/14 US Cl. 4--148 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an integral tub and shower enclosure and a method and apparatus for making the same.

' Tubs are usually first installed in a bathroom, the shower surround around the tub is then installed and thereafter ceramic tile or other wall linings are then fitted around the walls in a manner well-known in the building art.

These custom made practices are time-consuming and the quality varies with the skills of different craftsmen. If the fitting is not done well, troublesome problems of leakage between the joints of thetile or between the tiled wall and the tub develop.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a unitary tub and shower enclosure made of plastic materials having no joints and which can be made in one layup operation.

A further object is to provide an improved 'r'nold on which an integral tub and shower enclosure can be formed and then readily removed without having to dismantle the mold to effect a removal of the cast tub and shower.

Another object is to provide an improved mold for making a tub having integral shower walls wherein separate relatively movable mold surfaces are provided within the principal mold to allow soap and accessory receiving pockets to be formed in the shower enclosure walls at the time the integral shower and tub is being cast.

Another object of this invention is to provide a freestanding tub and integral wallsurround having nailable support flanges formed at the upper edge of the shower wall and at the vertical end walls of the shower enclosure to enable the tub and shower walls to be secured to the surrounding wall area of the bathroom.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose a few embodiments of the invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only, and not as a definition of the limits of the invention as to which reference should be made to the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective View, with parts broken away, showing the integral mold wherein the relatively mov- 3,557,390 Patented Jan. 26, 1971 able pocket forming portions of the mold and the foot plate mold are shown in extended position.

FIG. 2 is a top view of our improved mold on which a tub and integral shower wall can be cast or laid up on, wherein separate relatively movable pocket forming molds and foot plate mold, shown in retracted position, are provided for forming soap, accessory and foot recesses in the tub and shower surround.

FIG. 3- shows a perspective view of the casting after it has been withdrawn from the mold and positioned in the bathroom, in between the building studs, which are shown in dotted outline, of the bathroom.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the molded tub and shower enclosure shown in FIG. 3.

Our improved mold is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as viewed primarily from the central part of the mold, and comprises a tub 10, apron 12 and shower wall 14 areas on which the plastic materials for the tub and shower surround are molded and built up. The mold surfaces of the tub side apron shower walls are very slightly tapered in the direction the molded product is withdrawn from the mold. These mold surfaces, which form the smooth surfaces of the finished product, are highly polished and the molded article has a telescoping arrangement with respect to the mold to permit it to be withdrawn from the mold.

The end wall area 16 and 18 form an extension of the rear shower wall area 14 and assumes an elongated eliptical oval configuration which extend upwardly from and are integral with the tub 10, apron 12 and seat portion 22 and the ends of the wall form wide pilasters which imparts an inherent configuration to the design which will make it rigid. v The apron 12 and the portion of the wall of the pilasters extending upwardly therefrom have an offset nailing strip 13 and 15 which extends sidewise in opposite directions and vertically in the same plane as the length of the tub. This construction has the advantage that it provides for considerable versatility in installing the tub in different arrangement.

For example, it is easy to install the tub in a walled surface wherein the walls continue outwardly in opposite directions in the same plane as the length of the tub. By this arrangement, all one has to do is to nail the front of the shower fast and bring the wall board at right angles into abutment with the front face of the pilasters which are formed from the mold areas 16 and 18.

If desired a slight off set can be made in the vertical nailing flanges so that if the adjoining walls are in the same plane as the front face of the pilasters 20 and 30, the wall board or plaster is brought up to the off set and comes into abutment therewith.

The pilaster or columnar wall construction having a cross sectional thickness greater than the remaining portion of the shower surround, which interconnects the seat 22 and apron 12 and the sidewalls of the shower enclosure gives the entire unit a built-in rigidity not 3 I have shown in FIG. 1 how the mold 12, 14, and 16 can be supported in a horizontal position to facilitate the application of fiber glass and filler to the mold.

Any conventional rotary pivot support can be provided to facilitate rotating the mold when applying the plastic thereto. This arrangement also facilitates the removal of the finished product from the mold in a horizontal direction which is best adapted for many manufacturing facilities having limited head room.

At the upper portion of the shower wall mold there is provided a flat horizontal surface area 30 which interconnects and is integral with the upper end of the mold for the columnar walls 18 and 20 and the mold for the shower surround walls 14 and 16 which provides a built in rigidity for the finished shower stall.

In order to form soap and accessory recesses in the shower walls, the relatively movable receptacle molds 32 and 34 are moved into their outwardly extended position as shown in FIG. 1 to provide mold protrusions extending from the walls 14 and 16.

The movable receptacle molds 32 and 34 are supported on a brace member 36 which interconnects the opposite side walls 16 of the main mold body. A second brace 38 may be provided at the upper end of the shower surround part of the mold to give further rigidity to this part of the mold. The brace members 36 and 38 may also be provided with means for externally supporting the entire mold for rotary movement to facilitate applying plastics thereto.

Reciprocating accessory mold members 39 and 40 are confined to reciprocating movement within suitable guides 42 and 44, and are movable between an extended position (shown in FIG. 1) and a retracted position (shown in dotted outline in FIG. 2). In order to provide a foot recess at the bottom of apron 12, a spring tensioned swingably mounted mold 11 supported by a spring tensioned hinge 17 may be moved into and out of position. The spring tensioned hinge 17 normally holds the foot recess mold in retracted position. In FIG. 1, the mold 11 is shown in molding position and is held in place by conventional locked members 19 and 21. In FIG. 2 the mold 11 is shown in retracted position.

Any conventional molding process may be used with the applicants molds. This process could consist of the following steps.

The mold is first washed with soap and water and then allowed to dry. After this, a conventional mold release is applied. This mold release could be for example a poly vinyl alcohol, or it could be a conventional wax which is either sprayed on the mold surfaces or applied by hand.

When this has dried, a conventional gel coat is sprayed or painted on the mold. This gel coat can be clear or colored. After this has hardened, a further coating of polyester resin, mixed with suitable filler and reinforcement material such as chopped fiber glass, ground silica, or fiber glass cloth, is applied and built up in successive applications until the desired thickness is attained.

After the applied materials have cured and hardened, the molded product is then ready to be withdrawn from the mold. This process consists of first withdrawing the accessory receptacle molds 34 and 39 into their retracted position as shown in FIG. 2 and swinging the foot recess mold out of molding position as also shown in FIG. 2.

The molded product shown in FIG. 3 is then ready to be withdrawn from the primary mold. This may be accomplished by knocking it partially loose and then physically withdrawing the molded product from the principal mold. To further assist in the removal of the article from the mold compressed air may be injected through ducts 52 and 54 carried in accessory molds 32 and 34 to free the pocket area and surrounding areas from the mold and then air is injected through pipe 53 through the tub drain hole A.

The finished molded product is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 positioned in the bathroom with the studs shown in phantom. The finished product, because of the columnar and integral molding technique employed, is freestanding and possess stability and rigidity even before it is nailed to the studs through the nailing flanges 24, 26, 28, 13 and 15.

Due to the molding technique employed, there are no seams between the surround and the tub through which leakage can occur. It will be appreciated that while this is the preferred form and manner of making our product, the shower surround walls and the tub could be made on separate molds to facilitate the use of smaller molds and nesting to thereby economize in shipping costs. The two units would then be assembled together at the building site and united with a suitable plastic adhesive such as a silicone. In this way, the bulkiness in shipment would be eliminated, but all the advantages of stability and rigidity when assembled would be retained.

Our invention permits a tub, a shower wall enclosure with receptacle indentations formed therein to be made on a single mold in one operation. This arrangement is suitable for mass production of tubs and shower enclosures and results in a product which is free from leakage problems and avoids the necessity of sealing a tub surround to a bathtub.

It will be appreciated that the tub and shower surround can be made either with poured plastic or by means of spraying and lamination. The time required to manufacture a tub and shower surround will be materially decreased and the time for installing the finished product will also be lessened because the only thing that has to be done is to nail the tub and shower surround through the nailing flange strips 24, 26, 28, 13 and 15 and to hook up the waste and inlet water connections.

While this invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, these are illustrative only, as many alternatives and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit or proper scope of the invention. The invention is therefore not to be construed as limited, except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A tub and shower surround made from plastics which comprises a primary elongated tub having a flattened elongated eliptical shower surround extending above said tub and formed integrally therewith, wherein the curved ends of the shower surround extending above the tub walls terminate in pilasters of larger cross sectional thickness than the other portions of the shower surround to impart a rigidity to the surround when it is free standing before attachment to building walls.

2. A tub and shower surround having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein the end walls of the shower surround are identical and symmetrical and have a wrap-around configuration enclosing the ends and a web interconnecting the top-edge of the surround to a flange securing strip having a rectangular configuration.

3. A tub and shower surround having the features provided for in claim 2, wherein the upper walls of the shower surround are formed with a horizontal web which extends from the upper wall of the shower surround to an area where it will be secured to the walls of the bathroom and wherein the horizontal web terminates with an upwardly extending flange which is continuous along all sides of the upper walls of the shower surround to avoid leaks between the wall and the shower surround.

4. A tub and shower surround having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein the pilasters terminate in front and at opposite ends of the tub and extend outwardly in the same plane as the front of the tub, with a recess flange permitting a wall area to be built up to and with the same Sane as the front of the tub and pilasters.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,572,275 D. 186,841 12/1959 Everett 4-148X D. 187,209 2/1960 Dreyfuss 4-148X 3/1924 Ewing 4- 14s 5 6 3,158,237 11/1964 Schooler 4-148X 3,359,574 12/ 1967 Stoneburner 4173 FOREIGN PATENTS 956,151 4/1964 Great Britain 4-146 LAVERNE D'. GEIGER, Primary Examiner J. H. DODGE, Assistant Examiner 

